"I read the sports pages every morning. I folded the paper over my cereal bowl and memorized the stats to impress my grandparents." Chris Carlson grew up in a sports loving family that provided him the environment he loved where he could eat, breathe, and sleep sports.
Growing up in Boston, it was easy for Chris to surround himself with sports outside of home too. Chris went to see the Red Sox and Bruins with his friends whenever he could. "When I was a teenager, one of the first things I was allowed to do by myself or with friends was to go see hockey games. It was that first taste of independence, going somewhere without your parents having to chaperone you."
Chris later attended Syracuse University, where he wrote for the Daily Orange. Moving on from college, Carlson's first job was in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. "It was a very small town, they had division three schools and its high school sports where none of the athletes really went on to anywhere big so even division three college sports they were seen as star athletes. I got paid $25,000 starting out which is not an easy way to live."
"My biggest challenge starting out was definitely finances. In this business you're never getting rich but it's enough to do what you love and that is probably the case for most young journalists now is managing finances."
As for tips to upcoming sports writers, Chris had this to say. "Embrace covering high school or college level sports. Even today I enjoy going back and covering those things now because those people want the coverage, they want to spend their time with you. They want to share their stories with you."
Growing up in Boston, it was easy for Chris to surround himself with sports outside of home too. Chris went to see the Red Sox and Bruins with his friends whenever he could. "When I was a teenager, one of the first things I was allowed to do by myself or with friends was to go see hockey games. It was that first taste of independence, going somewhere without your parents having to chaperone you."
Chris later attended Syracuse University, where he wrote for the Daily Orange. Moving on from college, Carlson's first job was in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. "It was a very small town, they had division three schools and its high school sports where none of the athletes really went on to anywhere big so even division three college sports they were seen as star athletes. I got paid $25,000 starting out which is not an easy way to live."
"My biggest challenge starting out was definitely finances. In this business you're never getting rich but it's enough to do what you love and that is probably the case for most young journalists now is managing finances."
As for tips to upcoming sports writers, Chris had this to say. "Embrace covering high school or college level sports. Even today I enjoy going back and covering those things now because those people want the coverage, they want to spend their time with you. They want to share their stories with you."
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